Spring is here – let the gardening begin!

Spring came in like a lamb, and seems to follow the same path into April. This is just fine with me! I’m working on an article about season extending techniques so I set up a couple of Wall-O-Waters in the garden to warm up the soil before planting peas. The tomatoes won’t go out until [...]

Say “Cheeeeese!”

It’s been a productive week. I finished articles on fruit tree pruning and dealing with fire blight, enjoying spring greens, plus keeping ground squirrels and their cousins out of your garden. I’m starting my weekly posts to Planters Place “Pest Patrol” blog so if you have particular questions drop me a note. I still have [...]

Planning the garden

Normally I don’t start seeding until around March 6, give or take a couple of days. This year, I need to start earlier because some crops take longer, plus I’m going to push the season earlier. So I’m going to seed celery, a few peppers and tomatoes this week. According to the Farmers’ Almanac the [...]

An eye on education

The focus of my writing topics this week is education. One is featuring the phenomenal efforts of the “Grizzly Business” program at North Middle School here in Great Falls, while the other takes a look at the experiences of post grads from a Montana university. I’m anxious to study the trends, and talk to those [...]

Dyeing, pressure cooking and bees – oh my!

Last weekend my editor was kind enough to run the entire beast of an article, Bee Happy, on beekeeping. It’s a topic near to my heart, which makes it difficult for me to hide my enthusiasm. I know many of the questions people ask, and kept writing! This week, I’m working on an article on [...]

Enjoying a winter reprieve

‘Tis the season when I especially love living on the east side of the mountains. We enjoy 300 sunny days a year, including a considerable amount in the winter, and often have chinooks – the snow eater winds that come out of the south. Last week we were below zero; today it’s sunny and 55 [...]

Sprouts on Ice

Whew! We made it through Christmas and New Years in one piece. Although there’s still snow on the ground, and planting season is still a couple of months away, I’m already chomping at the bit ordering seeds and starts preparing for the new season. To satisfy the growing bug, I did start sprouts in a [...]

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

I can almost take a deep breath after hitting “send” on one article, and submitting another to Darla Shine’s new website Family Survival 101. I’m going to offer advice to her readers on what to do in their gardens throughout the year. This first tidbit provides tips on planning for this year’s garden, something I’m [...]

Crafts, cooking and cleaning

It’s a shock to think Christmas is less than a month away. I am so not ready. To top it off, I hate shopping. It takes a special alignment of the universe for me to step into Target, let alone the mall, so “dashing in” to grab a few gifts is a major feat. It’s [...]

Homebrew and cold days

   It’s a blustery and busy week in Great Falls. My article, Blowing in the Wind, ran in the ‘At Home’ section on Saturday’s (Nov.14) Great Falls Tribune. With the constant “breezes” we have this time of year, it’s good to see others making good use of this resource. And with improving technology and decreasing [...]

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